Now lets upgrade some more stuff on the Spartan

[Brushless55]

This boat was said to do 50mph+ out of the box on 6s
and it can't!

isn't this called false advertisement?

[dag-nabit]

isn't this called false advertisement?

Misleading at the very least.

I'm not sticking up for Traxxas, nor am I saying their hype and claims aren't over stated, but in reality this is nothing new in the marketing world.

Watch any Ford/Dodge/GMC pick up truck ad on TV and they all claim to be the toughest, most reliable, longest lasting pick up on the market, all the while showing video footage of them bouncing over boulders, rooting through mud with the tires spinning and throwing mud every which way, and then jumping the front end 2 feet in the air coming out of a ditch at the construction site. Yeah, you can do that a few times, but drive your truck like that on a daily basis and you will soon find out out how tough, reliable, and long lasting it is.

Or those commercials for those "certain" products for the ladies that show them swimming in the tropics, and riding horseback down the beach with big happy smiles on their face. Don't know about you fellas, but it don't work like that in my house. (well; maybe it would if I sent the ladies on a tropical vacation once a month, but they don't tell you that on the box)

Yes, it's wrong that Traxxas (and other companies) attempt to mislead us into believing their products will perform beyond what they are actually designed/intended to do, but it certainly isn't a new tactic.

It seems like everything about the Spartan has been a let down, but I'm thinking I can still have fun with my kids with a mid 40's 36" boat, as long as I can keep it from overheating without too much expense, and, if it proves to be reliable in the long run (which is debatable at this point, I know).

Kevin

[JPriami]

Ok the ice needs to melt so I can go run again. its been almost a week. Got my new props to try. I need to sell these z06 motorsport wheels so i can buy some more lipos too lol.and maybe another catamaran

[martin]

Ive got a 41" deep v Osprey hull which is one of the various DF knock off type hulls around & was looking at putting the same motor & esc into it as you have in the Spartan. Some recommend going to the Leopard 5692 in this size hull to get around 60mph but thats mega expensive with motor a 240hv esc + big mods to custom mounts & much bigger shaft & strengthening the hull bottom. Id be happy with high 40s in this hull that would be at much reduced cost & considerably less work useing the 4082 motor & t180 esc on 6s but not sure if this set up would be good in this hull. Thanks Martin.

[Hooligan]

Misleading at the very least.

Watch any Ford/Dodge/GMC pick up truck ad on TV and they all claim to be the toughest, most reliable, longest lasting pick up on the market, all the while showing video footage of them bouncing over boulders, rooting through mud with the tires spinning and throwing mud every which way, and then jumping the front end 2 feet in the air coming out of a ditch at the construction site. Yeah, you can do that a few times, but drive your truck like that on a daily basis and you will soon find out out how tough, reliable, and long lasting it is.

Kevin

Nicely said....

[Make-a-Wake]

Ive got a 41" deep v Osprey hull which is one of the various DF knock off type hulls around & was looking at putting the same motor & esc into it as you have in the Spartan. Some recommend going to the Leopard 5692 in this size hull to get around 60mph but thats mega expensive with motor a 240hv esc + big mods to custom mounts & much bigger shaft & strengthening the hull bottom. Id be happy with high 40s in this hull that would be at much reduced cost & considerably less work useing the 4082 motor & t180 esc on 6s but not sure if this set up would be good in this hull. Thanks Martin.

I bet you'd be suprised what that 4082 can do.................I'd throw an X445 on and watch her rip.......................................to about 45 or so.

[Brushless55]

Misleading at the very least.


Kevin

no one claims to have a speed but Traxxas and no one can get to the said speed of 50mph
it's an outright lie
I think something should be said about this bogus claim

[Diesel6401]

Traxxas prob hit 50, they just burned up a whole lot of motors doing it

[Brushless55]

Traxxas prob hit 50, they just burned up a whole lot of motors doing it

I'm thinking they did it running it down hill!

[TazMotorsports]

Ran the Spartan today with the gps and it showed 48.7. Pretty close to 50 and its all stock. Lets see if I can get a better prop and hit the magic 50 number. Heading to Daytona later today to watch some racing. Might be next week sometime.

[dag-nabit]

no one claims to have a speed but Traxxas and no one can get to the said speed of 50mph
it's an outright lie
I think something should be said about this bogus claim

True, but I was just illustrating the general concept that most products are marketed with exaggerated/accentuated claims as to how wonderful they are.

We don't know that Traxxas hasn't successfully achieved 50MPH with the Spartan during development and testing with the out of box components installed. With a perfectly dialed in set up, perfect water and wind conditions, high quality packs, etc. it may well have been accomplished.

EPA fuel economy ratings on vehicles is a similar concept. Take a vehicle that has been thoroughly inspected and dialed in by a team of mechanics and engineers, on a flat test track with a perfect road surface, no wind, correct tire pressures, at a steady optimum speed, etc, etc, and vehicle manufactures can achieve their claimed fuel economy ratings. In the real world, we never see those claimed fuel economy numbers, but they still post them on the window stickers and brag about them on TV commercials.

Different set of circumstances, same basic concept.

I'm more concerned with the reports of torched ESC's and overheated motors. I can live with 45-48mph instead of 50mph out of the box, if the Spartan can prove itself as reliable.

Time will tell if failed components affect only a small percentage of these boats, or if the Spartan is destined to be a lemon.

Just my opinion.

Kevin

[Brushless55]

True, but I was just illustrating the general concept that most products are marketed with exaggerated/accentuated claims as to how wonderful they are.

We don't know that Traxxas hasn't successfully achieved 50MPH with the Spartan during development and testing with the out of box components installed. With a perfectly dialed in set up, perfect water and wind conditions, high quality packs, etc. it may well have been accomplished.

EPA fuel economy ratings on vehicles is a similar concept. Take a vehicle that has been thoroughly inspected and dialed in by a team of mechanics and engineers, on a flat test track with a perfect road surface, no wind, correct tire pressures, at a steady optimum speed, etc, etc, and vehicle manufactures can achieve their claimed fuel economy ratings. In the real world, we never see those claimed fuel economy numbers, but they still post them on the window stickers and brag about them on TV commercials.

Different set of circumstances, same basic concept.

I'm more concerned with the reports of torched ESC's and overheated motors. I can live with 45-48mph instead of 50mph out of the box, if the Spartan can prove itself as reliable.

Time will tell if failed components affect only a small percentage of these boats, or if the Spartan is destined to be a lemon.

Just my opinion.

Kevin

not the same thing bro
if Traxxas says it does low 50's (50mph+), we should be seeing 51-54mph on 6s no matter what.. stock prop on 2 3s packs

and your epa comments...
EPA regulations are a lot defferent today even over the past 5-7 years
they take the cars and trucks and run them on computers and take them out in the real world with real conditions!
they don't run with a tail wind and tires over inflated to get more mpg that you and I would get in the real world
not a concept but factual data

just would be nice if they didn't have the lame claims and had good stuff like AQ and PB

[JPriami]

Bored bored bored. Waiting for the sun to warm it up out there. Decided to start looking at the boat as I do my helicopters. And factor in balance. I made a level spot to set the V part of the hull on. Put a bubble level on the hulls flat spots . Then placed the batteries and stuff in. And I've noticed the right side is a little heavier. Prob the rudder. Then experimented with placement of packs laying flat and on their side along with and without gps. Found some good base spots that make the hull evenly balanced as a new starting point for weight placement. Aparently it' been a bit out of balance this whole time.

[Darin Jordan]

Found some good base spots that make the hull evenly balanced as a new starting point for weight placement. Aparently it' been a bit out of balance this whole time.

Generally speaking... Monos tend to do a little better with a tad bit of weight offset to the LEFT... Helps to counter prop torque, and the drag/weight of the hardware on the right...

[JPriami]

Thanks. I was thinking that would help. I was just suprised that where i thought it would be evenly balanced it wasn't. And where i had it balanced for more weight on the left it was really just about balanced even.

[dag-nabit]

not the same thing bro
if Traxxas says it does low 50's (50mph+), we should be seeing 51-54mph on 6s no matter what.. stock prop on 2 3s packs

and your epa comments...
EPA regulations are a lot defferent today even over the past 5-7 years
they take the cars and trucks and run them on computers and take them out in the real world with real conditions!
they don't run with a tail wind and tires over inflated to get more mpg that you and I would get in the real world
not a concept but factual data

Just would be nice if they didn't have the lame claims and had good stuff like AQ and PB

I didn't say tail wind, I said no wind, and I didn't say overinflated tires, I said properly inflated tires. i.e controlled conditions.

And if you think vehicle emissions/fuel economy testing isn't done under controlled test conditions, you are living in a dream world bro.

From the EPA web site:

Certification Emission Test Data

All new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. must be certified to meet federal emission standards. This is accomplished by performing laboratory tests on pre-production vehicles. Most testing is performed by manufacturers at their own facilities. EPA audits the data from this testing and performs its own testing on some of these vehicles to confirm the manufacturers' results. All of this test data is available to the public for review and analysis.

Note that it says laboratory tests, and at the manufactures "own facilities". That isn't real world testing.

The EPA performs independent testing on some vehicles. Admittedly, I don't know if EPA testing is done real world, or in an independent test facility.

Concept is exactly the same. Real world performance may not equal performance under controlled test conditions, and manufactures are going to accentuate positive data to sell their products.

We as consumers have the choice not to purchase if we feel the manufacture is in any way misleading or unethical, or if we feel the quality of the product is sub standard. We can also file complaints with various consumer advocacy groups should we choose to do so.

I don't have any hands on with PB, but I agree with you, my AQ products have proven to be excellent.

[Diesel6401]

I'm thinking they did it running it down hill!

[JPriami]

I've got a nice traxxas bouy out here on the lake.

[JPriami]

....

[JPriami]

Just got to the lake and was about to test my traxxas spartan after a few adjustments & mods. It ended up just going airborne and flipped then turned into a buoy. Ripped the canopy clean off the boat. Good thing I installed flotation on the underside of it. Had to call a friend to bring me my paddle boat so I could go get it.
Next time ill pay a little more attention to the wind and not head into it when testing a new setup at wot.

Damages so far just seem to be a busted rudder servo. Drying out the electronics now then will test later.

[LarrysDrifter]

Whoops.That sucks.I lost a hatch on my old rat boat because I didnt feel like adding flotation to it.

[Rumdog]

You may have hit something in the water there. Doesn't look like a blowover. Plus, the busted servo..

[JPriami]

Maybe but not sure.
It happened after i gunned then throttle the rest of the way. I was testing a new prop. I think it started to wheelie up then there she went.
Here is a video I redid in slow motion.

[martin]

I think that took off rather than hit something, It was coming up for to long before it finally went. Judging by how you can clearly see the spray coming of the prop being blown by the wind when the boat was first going away from the bank. That was going into what must have been quite a strong head wind when it lifted. Thanks Martin.

[JPriami]

Yeah I'm sure the wind had a good factor in it too. Normally I go wot downwind when testing something new and not knowing what exactly to expect. This time I was being ignorant and not thinking about it.

[Rumdog]

Yup. I can see it now in slomo

[martin]

Nothing to do with this crash but is it me or does the Spartan appear in the pictures ive seen of the transom to have a much steeper dead rise angle than most of the good deep v hulls around. What affect would this have on this hulls running characteristics if it turns out to be steeper. Thanks Martin.

[Make-a-Wake]

Watched it several times....................dont think it hit anything........it just took off.

[JPriami]

Got to run today. It wasn’t to bad. I did jump out of the water hitting a wake but, at least it didn’t jump up and crash :D
I was able to run wot and make some really nice passes with no death wobble!
So balancing the boat (little heavier on the left) out seems to have really helped it.
Sadly I only hit 53.8Mph today with the M645 prop. I was looking for high 50’s . And 47mph on the M445 that I had previously reproduced a couple times a 54mph speed. Seemed odd.
I feel it’s a couple reasons (hopefully) something to do with the previous water crash and making it a buoy for about an hour and all the electronics got soaked to some degree. Even some was inside the esc case. I water proofed it a little better now. I think all the settings on the esc were wiped out. I didn’t think to check and reset them when I got the boat back together.
The other reason being I went airborne last time, this time I had the packs for weight up further in the hull. BTW I know this isn’t the main reason it didn’t death wobble because ive run with the packs there before and had the same wobble.
Now that I seen it go today and it ran nice, I will start shifting the weight back and see if it gets faster. If not maybe try adjusting the strut. I’ll be happy to get it finished so I can just go and run it with confidence on how it runs consistently. But then again it might sit on the shelf after that because I’ll need another challenge and something to mess with.

I just had a thought i need to test my gps too. It was soaked for that hour in the crash and didnt work for a while. I'll try it on the way to work tomorrow.

[Brushless55]

Justin, I hope nothing is jacked..
if you do move your packs back some like 1" at a time or even just 1/2" at a time, you should see a bit more speed out of it..